L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast.  A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey.  His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me…

Or are we finally ready to play the World Series?  The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League pennant.  The Cardinals meet the Texas Rangers, who beat the Detroit Tigers,  for the championship.

The Cardinals, a wild card team, have  home field advantage because the National League won this year’s all-star  game.  The most important series of the baseball season has home field decided by an exhibition game.  Maybe the NBA will decide home court for their finals (if they play this season) by the winner of the slam dunk contest?

Is it me…

Or does  it look like the NBA may not happen this year?  Despite both sides agreeing to mediation, it appears  they are still far apart.  The commissioner has already cancelled the first two weeks of the season and has expressed his concern over the Christmas day games.

Both sides sat down with a federal mediator yesterday with the hope of saving the season.  (We went to press before the meeting was over.)   The owners appear to be united and in it for the long haul.  If this is in fact the case, the season may be lost.

The good news is the college basketball season is just around the corner and  will readily fill the NBA void.

Is it me…

Or do we need to eliminate the post game handshake in the NFL?  Don’t get me wrong, I am all for sportsmanship but the coaches of the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions needed a timeout after their game Sunday.  Harbaugh, the San Francisco coach, came running across the field and gave his Detroit counterpart an exuberant handshake and then a slap on the back. Schwartz took exception and chased Harbaugh back toward the tunnel, but the two were kept separated. Players gathered and appeared to restore order.  (Detroit suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of the 49ers.)  Harbaugh took responsibility for the incident but did not apologize for his enthusiasm. Neither coach was fined because no punches were thrown.

Detroit’s loss leaves Green Bay as the only undefeated team in the NFL  Note to the Packers:  The reason they call those old uniforms throwbacks is because they are so ugly they need to be thrown back into storage and left there.

The NFL continues to surprise each week;  The Bengal are 4-2 after losing, or letting go Quarterback Carson Palmer, wide receivers T.O. and Ochocinco.  The 49ers and Lions are 5-1, suiting up basically the same personnel from last season.  And who had the Raiders or Bills at 4-2 at this point?  (The Raiders traded with the Bengals couple of draft picks for Carson Palmer)

The Vikings, Falcons, Eagles, Jets and the Cowboys have played beneath their potential.  Every year I hype the Cowboys and they just don’t cut it.  They hold the Patriots to twenty points, but still manage to lose.  I know Romo tends to implode at the end of games but the Cowboys played the Patriots game trying not to lose instead of trying to win it.  They were sooooooooooooooooo conservative and it cost them.

The Patriots remain steady and true.  Brady and Belichick are amazing; they are one of the best combo of quarterback and coach of all times.  Brady’s drive down the field Sunday, against the Cowboys was like watching a skilled surgeon at work.  He cut them up, with precision and calm.  You never doubted for a second he would lead them to a score.  Kudos to the Patriots from a Jets’ fan L  Speaking of the Jets, they defeated the Dolphins and ended a three game slide and kept “Flipper” winless.

NFL teams continue to adjust and shape their rosters;

A list of current NFL transactions can be found at:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/transactions/

Is it me…

Or did the WNBA finish their season?  When did the WNBA play its championship series?  I am told the Minnesota Lynx are the champions, but did anyone see the series?  Congrats to the Lynx.  Sorry we missed it.

Is it me…

Or did a MMA match break out at the Hopkins –Dawson fight?  Chad Dawson won a controversial TKO decision against Bernard Hopkins Saturday night.  Toward the end of the second round Dawson lifted Hopkins up with his shoulder and back, Hopkins was leaning over Dawson, and slammed him to the canvas.  Hopkins clutched his shoulder and seemed to be in a lot of pain.  Although Hopkins offered to continue, one armed, the officials overruled him and declared him unable to fight.  The referee, Pat Russell, had not called a foul, therefore Dawson was ruled the new light heavyweight champ via a TKO.

Hopkins claims he was fouled and should be the winner via a disqualification and Dawson claims Hopkins quit and is a coward.  Only in professional boxing would a boxing match be decided by a non-boxing technique.

Tell me it’s not true that Oscar D. the Golden Boy , is planning a comeback?  That is fool’s gold you are chasing Oscar,  you’re finished, stay out of the ring!

Is it me…

Or is it with great sadness we note the passing of Dan Wheldon?   Defending Indy 500 champ ,  Dan Wheldon was killed Sunday in a massive fiery 15 car wreck at a season-ending race in Las Vegas.  His car went airborne and landed upside down on a fence, where Wheldon’s helmet struck a wall causing an unsurvivable head injury.  The crashed occurred on lap eleven and forced the cancellation of the race.

Several drivers had complained that the track was too fast and wide.  It allowed, and tempted poorer drivers to take chances that were unnecessary at speeds up 225 miles per hour.  Additionally, there were 34 cars on the track, too many for an oval track which is just slightly over 1.5 miles.

Wheldon is survived by his wife and two young sons.

Edited by D. Pride.